Scientists, Entertainers and Artists

Sigmund Freud A Mind is a Terrible Thing to Waste

Sigmund Freud (May 6, 1856 – September 23, 1939) was an Austrian neurologist who became known as the founding father of psychoanalysis, a clinical method for treating psychopathology through dialogue between a patient and a psychoanalyst. This construction is a repetition of the famous picture of Freud in various juxtapositions with small locks on his head and a watch chain suggesting the unlocking of the human mind. Also includes are Freudian terminologies.

Franz Kafka

Franz Kafka (July 3, 1883 –June 3, 1924) was a German writer of novels and short stories, regarded by critics as one of the most influential authors of the 20th century. Kafka strongly influenced genres such as existentialism. Most of his works are filled with the themes and archetypes of alienation, physical and psychological brutality, parent–child conflict, characters on a terrifying quest, labyrinths of bureaucracy, and mystical transformations. This work is the result of the artist finding pictures in a German archive and then combining them with plastic optical pieces found on Canal Street in New York City. Rubber-stamped images of insects at the sides of the work reference one of Kafka’s best-known works, The Metamorphosis.

Harry Houdini The Handcuff King

Harry Houdini (born Erik Weisz in Budapest, later known as Ehrich Weiss or Harry Weiss; March 24, 1874 – October 31, 1926) was a Hungarian-American stunt performer noted for his sensational escape acts. Houdini created his stage name as a tribute to the famous nineteenth century French magician, Jean Eugene Robert-Houdon. In this compelling work, a famous picture of Houdini in chains is placed on a partially-opened door surrounded by meticulously constructed chains and locks.

Babe Ruth The Sultan of Swat

George Herman “Babe” Ruth, Jr. (February 6, 1895 – August 16, 1948), nicknamed “the Bambino” and “the Sultan of Swat”, was an American professional baseball player. He was a Major League baseball pitcher and outfielder who played for 22 seasons on three teams from 1914 through 1935. Ruth was the first player to hit 60 home runs in one season (1927), a mark not surpassed until 1961. Ruth’s lifetime record of 715 home runs stood until 1974 when it was surpassed by Henry Aaron. This work depicts holes for the home run numbers leading up to 715 with a cage of white balls.

Norma Jeane

Marilyn Monroe (born Norma Jeane Mortenson; June 1, 1926 – August 5, 1962) was an American actress, model and singer, who became a major sex symbol through starring in greatly successful and often controversial motion pictures during the 1950s and early 1960s. In this work, a box covered on the outside with marbled paper opens to show Norma Jeane as a child with a glass jar containing childhood toys on the top and the famous calendar shot of a nude Marilyn Monroe on the bottom.

Norma Jeane II

Marilyn Monroe (born Norma Jeane Mortenson; June 1, 1926 – August 5, 1962) was an American actress, model, and singer, who became a major sex symbol, starring in memorable and often controversial motion pictures during the 1950s and early 1960s. This construction, the second in a series, shows Norma Jeane as a child, the famous calendar shot of a nude Marilyn Monroe and repetitive head shots of Marilyn, half of which are inverted.

Gertrude Ederle

Gertrude Ederle (October 23, 1905 – November 30, 2003) was an American competition swimmer, Olympic champion, and former world record-holder. In 1926, she became the first woman to swim across the English Channel. This work is purposely constructed so that the white background contrasts sharply with Ederle’s body which had been heavily greased to maintain her body temperature. A map of the channel where the swim took place is below Ederle’s picture leaving the water after her historic swim..

Joseph Cornell Castelli Poster

Joseph Cornell (December 24, 1903 – December 29, 1972) was an American artist and sculptor. Cornell’s most characteristic art works were boxed assemblages created from found objects. These are simple boxes, usually fronted with a glass pane, in which he arranged surprising collections of photographs or bric-a-brac, in a way that combines the formal austerity of Constructivism with the lively fantasy of Surrealism. Many of his boxes are interactive and meant to be handled. This work is a replica of Cornell’s Mediei Series within a construction of a poster advertising a gallery exhibition of his works.

Da Vinci

Leonardo di ser Piero da Vinci (April 15, 1452 – May 2, 1519) was a painter, sculptor, architect, musician, mathematician, engineer, inventor, anatomist, geologist, cartographer, botanist, and writer. He is widely considered to be one of the greatest painters of all time and perhaps the most diversely talented person ever to have lived. Because Leonardo is particularly revered for his technological ingenuity, the pulleys in this piece are used to show Da Vinci’s talent for mechanical design. At the top of the work is an angel on a monorail pulled along by a small weight. At the center is a picture of Da Vinci surrounded by his sketches. Pictures of the Mona Lisa appear on the left and are inverted on the bottom right.